Our Facilities

Powerful. Safe.

Our comprehensive in-house expertise and technologies have ensured that Vexila is the market leader in the field of overhead electrical infrastructure products on the African continent.

Vexila prides itself on operating an innovative, vertically integrated manufacturing facility, equipped with efficient in-house processes and technologically driven equipment. Key manufacturing facilities, situated in Pietermaritzburg, the capital city of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, include: Silicone rubber injection moulding; Gravity cast aluminium and ductile iron foundries; Helical wireform production plant; Fibreglass reinforced polymer core pultrusion plant; and state of the art tool and die development and manufacturing facility.

Gravity Cast Ductile Iron Foundry

The Ductile Iron foundry has the capacity to manufacture, on average, 30 tons of Spheroidal Graphite (SG) Iron per month.

SG foundry post-casting processes include:

  • Fettling
  • Wheel-abrating
  • Grinding
  • Drilling

Gravity Cast Aluminium Foundry

The Aluminium foundry has the capacity to manufacture, on average, 60 tons of grade LM6 aluminium per month.

  • Fettling
  • Wheel-abrating
  • Stamping/Marking
  • CNC machining
  • Assembly

Silicone Blending Plant

Vexila manufactures various HTV silicone blends in-house. This entails combining raw materials which include silicone, filler materials as well as other critical ingredients that make the various composite rubber blends. This is achieved by use of blending machinery, decanting systems and finally extrusion machinery. The silicone blending plant has the capacity to produce, on average 80 tons of HTV Silicone per month meeting both HV and MV product requirements.

 

Fibreglass Reinforced Polymer Core Pultrusion Plant

In-house fibreglass reinforced polymer core pultrusion plant which is able to produce from Ø3mm –Ø63.5mm FRP cores. These are produced in both Epoxy resin and Polyester resin variations.

 

Silicone Rubber Injection Moulding Plant

Our production plant has fifteen (15) Rubber injection moulding machines which permits us to cater to high-volume production. This plant has the ability to produce both HV and MV composite insulators including fuse cutout products (drop-out expulsion fuse.)

 

Helical Wireform Production Plant

Helical Wireform production plant produces both aluminium and steel formed products, catering to the electrical distribution hardware market. The uses thereof include dead-ends, ties, armour rods. The equipment used in the manufacture consists of:

  • Helical wire-forming machinery
  • Cleaning tanks, gluing machinery, gritting machinery, cabling machinery, and bending machinery.

Metal Fabrication Plant

Comprises of cutting, bending, welding of steel (both mild and stainless variations) brass and copper. Equipment used in these manufacturing processes include:

  • Fly-wheel presses
  • Hydraulic presses
  • Bandsaws
  • Welding machinery
  • Drill presses
  • Lathes

Assembly Plants

Across the various manufacturing divisions, final stage assembling of products is carried out which includes the assembly of:

  • Vibration damper
  • Substation clamps
  • Composite insulator used for transmission, distribution and railway catenary systems
  • Fuse cut-outs
  • Disconnectors
  • Railway section and neutral section insulators
  • String hardware

Toolroom

Vexila is home to a state-of-the-art toolroom which consists of a team of trained artisans, CNC operators as well as tool designers.

  • Machinery available
    • CNC machining centres
    • CNC turning lathes
    • Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM)
    • Spark and wire eroding
    • Heat treatment furnaces
    • Surface grinders
  • Manufacturing of
    • Silicone moulds
    • Press tools
    • Foundry gravity casting tools
    • CNC jigs
    • General assembly jigging
    • Maintenance of tooling

Testing Facilities

Four (4) on-site laboratories are available to test, inspect and/or analyse incoming raw materials, in-house product testing and finished goods inspection:

Mechanical laboratory

  • Tensile testing Machines (kN rating up to 1MN)
  • Cantilever Testing machines

Electrical laboratory

  • Tracking and Erosion: AC dielectric
  • Inclined plane (comparative tracking index CTI)
  • Rotating wheel (dip and spray) tests

Metallurgical laboratory

  • Spectrum analysis
  • Metallurgical microscopy

Chemical and Polymer laboratory

  • Thermal kinetics
  • Glass transition temperature (Tg)
  • Water absorption
  • Rheology
  • Dye penetration
  • Tensile strength
  • Young’s modulus